Security of personal credit card ownership is a problem for banks, retailers, and lending institutions. There is a need for a way to verify that a person holding a credit card is actually the owner of the card. Such verification would help prevent unauthorized use of a credit card.
There is also a need to reduce the large data bases which must be maintained by retailers and banks in order to maintain personal data for each card holder such as billing addresses and credit limits. Additionally, a need exists to reduce the number of credit cards, identification papers (i.e. driver's license and social security card), and keys to buildings and machinery that each person must carry.
Such problems are overcome by the improvements afforded by this invention.